You Will Like Drew Doughty When He’s Angry

Perhaps we’ve identified a cause for Drew Doughty’s less than stellar offensive season:

No one has made him angry.

Of course, this seems like kind of a silly idea. He is a professional athlete and should perform as such regardless of emotional stimulation or distraction. But the events in last night’s contest between the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers might suggest otherwise. Observe:

In the first period, there was an incident involving Drew Doughty and 2010 #1 overall pick Taylor Hall. Hall attempted to skate by Doughty against the boards and perhaps was slightly too aggressive with his attack:

Was Hall angry about this incident from their last match-up?:

Perhaps. Or perhaps he is simply an aggressive skater. Doughty seemingly took an elbow from Hall on the play, though Hall did not really extend or even raise his arm that much- Doughty’s face just happened to be in the perfect spot. Was it a cheap shot? Maybe. Should a penalty have been called? No. But that didn’t prevent Doughty from erupting:

Yikes. Then this happened:

And then this:

So there you have it. Drew Doughty. Angry. Scoring goals. Seems like a simple equation. Maybe someone has to give him the Waterboy treatment.

Also interesting from this game, both of Doughty’s goals were initially credited to Smyth. Based on the replays, I could see the first one maybe, but the 2nd one was clearly straight in. Smyth said in an interview with the LA Times that he never touched either puck, which is probably what prompted the change.

In summary, will someone please smack Drew Doughty in the face before every game?